Speakers
This discussion examines the tension between personal autonomy and collective life, as explored across two novels, The Convert and Bhiku and His Bowl. In this moderated session, the two authors come together to reflect on what they see as a quiet loss of spirituality within modern communes, set against the growing dominance of organised religion, followed by questions from the audience.
Both novels draw their ethical frameworks from native religious histories, treated not as systems of divine order but as moral architectures for imagining harmonious, communal life. Their relevance lies in their optimistic vision of secular eco-villages, spaces that continually negotiate individual expression against collective responsibility. They share the philosophical question: how much of the self must be yielded to a community in exchange for its survival, equity, and well-being, and how much spiritual search can remain a private, individual pursuit even within a shared life? What does it cost a self to belong to something larger than itself?
Venue: Seminar Halls
Speakers
M. K. Shankar
M.K. Shankar is a writer, editor, translator and researcher whose work spans literature, science, cultural criticism and performance. He studied Physics and Philosophy, disciplines that shaped his interest in precision, language and conceptual thought. He has worked with leading publications including the Deccan Herald, Hong Kong Standard, South China Morning Post and The Hindu Business Line, and has edited and contributed to significant literary and cultural projects. Fluent in Kannada, English, Hindi and Russian, he has translated literary, biographical, scholarly and scientific works, including Penancing Music. He has also written, directed and adapted plays for Osage and the National School of Drama.
M.S. Murthy
Dr. M.S. Murthy is a multifaceted artist, author and researcher with over four decades of contribution to Indian contemporary art. A D.Litt. holder from Hampi University, he has held 25 solo exhibitions in India and internationally, including in New York, Iran, Bulgaria and Italy. His philosophical artistic practice, including the acclaimed The Bowlseries, often engages with Buddhist thought. His literary works include Drushya, described as the world’s first visual novel, and the award-winning play Yashodhare Malagirallilla. A former Chairman of the Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy, he has received honours including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award.
N. Vidyashankar
N. Vidyashankar is a film critic, writer and lecturer, and a Founder Member and former Artistic Director of the Bengaluru International Film Festival. He is a former member of the Advisory Panel of the Central Board of Film Certification and has contributed to literary and film journals. He lectures and writes on cinema in Kannada and English, and has edited and authored publications on European film theory, African cinema, and film art and culture. He has served on critics’ juries and as a delegate at major international film festivals.
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